Way, way under the radar, the Dolphins have signed a former Penn State linebacker named Cameron Wake. He was undrafted in 2005, and headed to the B.C. Lions in the CFL. I’ve watched him play up here for two years, and I have honestly probably never seen a more viciously effective linebacker. He’s been the defensive player of the year in the CFL in both of his seasons, and he rushes the passer like you wouldn’t believe. He’s obviously taking a major step up in class, but Miami liked him enough to outbid at least four other teams and give him a million dollar signing bonus. If he gets a chance then he’ll be worth watching. If he comes through then remember where you heard it first.
Classy moves by Anquan Boldin – he got in a shouting match with his offensive coordinator late in the NFC championship because he wasn’t getting the ball enough, then he dressed quickly and ducked out the back door of the dressing room while his teammates were celebrating their Super Bowl berth. Ken Whisenhunt came out today and said Boldin won’t be a distraction. That, of course, means that he will be. It just remains to be seen how much of one.
Willis McGahee is out of the hospital and back at home. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t read it in many places. The guy must be made of steel.
Speaking of men of steel, I watched one of the most incredible things I have seen in a while late last night. Gilles Muller beat Fernando Lopez in a five set marathon that became the longest match ever played at theAustralian Open. Muller won the first two matches, dropped the next two, then finally won the fifth set 16-14. It took more than five and a half hours. What made it so incredible, though, was the conditions. The air temperature was more than 95 degrees throughout, and the court temperature was recorded at more than 130 degrees. The court they were playing in was in the open, so there were no shadows or anything to provide relief on the court. The guys were totally and utterly spent, and the points were taking forever, but neither guy would quit. Tennis is hard work at the best of times, but in these conditions it was heroic. Normally, Muller would be an easy bet-against after coming off of that gruelling test. Circumstances make a bet against more of a challenge, though. His second round opponent is BernardTomic, a 16 year old Australian who became the youngest guy ever to win a match at the tournament in the first round. No matter how tired Muller is, trusting an upstart like Tomic seems like a bad idea.
Good call on Cameron Wake. This next statement might be inaccurate – I haven’t particularly studied it myself – but just a thought, I think pass rush is one position that might translate a little easier from CFL-to-NFL. Wake did go to Linebacker U and should be – at least – a decent plugger.
Boldin did go on NFL Live yesterday and basically say that everything is fine and that he is focused on winning the Super Bowl, so all is somewhat well.
Who do you think wins the Aussie Open on both sides? I still can’t believe that Mopy Murray is favored.
I’ve seen Boldin talk about it two different times, and Larry Fitzgerald was asked about it on Jim Rome today. I don’t think that it’ll be a huge deal, but it’s going to to be something that gets talked about for at least the first week when no one else has anything to talk about. That could make it a distraction. It’s not enough of one, though, that it will have a big impact on my eventual pick.
I’m going to write about my predictions for the Australian Open in a few minutes.
You’re write – it’s mostly a facade. In front of the cameras, people say one thing. Behind closed doors, it’s another story.
I think the fact that Boldin was not in the game shows you that there is a problem on the Cardinals side of things, that they don’t trust him, or don’t think he’s healthy enough to play. So even if Boldin says things are all good on his end, they might not be as far as the Cardinals are concerned.